It’s a crime to write a weekly feature highlighting exploitation cinema and not mention one of the earliest and most influential. This of course is Russ Meyer’s Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! With a title nearly as ridiculous as the movie itself, this classic from 1965 would go on to inspire many filmmakers who looked to achieve the same kind of camp and violence that was way ahead of its time.
The film revolves around a gang of hard as nails go go dancers who, after senselessly murdering a man, kidnap a girl and attempt to rob an old man in a wheel chair. Varla, played by Tura Satana, is the ruthless leader of the gang and will stop at nothing to get what she wants.
This movie is so over the top and ridiculous, that it’s hard really even describe it in an accurate way. The actions of the characters seem so incomprehensible that it’s simply impossible to take anything in it seriously. Therein lies the fun of this film. It’s a jazz-fuelled chaotic mess of a movie that is thoroughly enjoyable despite its many shortcomings.
The plot is thin and pointless, the acting is wretched, and it seemed like Russ Meyer was just using every opportunity he could to show the girls as naked as possible. The script was also a mess, with the exception of some great one liners, and it had some absolutely horrible editing. On a technical level, just about the only things that were good in this film was the camerawork and the soundtrack.
So why woul
By today’s standards, the desensitized moviegoer will find the level of sex and violence in this flick to be sub par. There’s no actual nudity and the violence, while at times brutal, seems tame compared to what we see today. Still, there’s plenty of fighting, murdering, and car chasing to satisfy most.
The first act of the film is phenomenal. Right from the opening titles it feels like you’re watching a Tarantino or Rodriguez film that’s paying homage, but then you realize that this is the real deal and it’s all those others that are emulating this. The novelty does wear off slightly, but by the end I was back in it full force.
Fans of grindhouse cinema will love this. Fans of traveling through the history of cinema will love this. Girlfriends will hate this. Whichever category you fall under one thing is certain- Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! is definitely a first of its kind that helped pave the way for decades of wonderfully campy trash.
